Help!! : (

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello guys. I just went into my room, and I saw this!

This was the wire to my filter. As soon I saw it, I unplugged it but the damage was already done.

Next to it, was a mouse in a glue trap.

I carefully plugged it back in, and thankfully it still worked. (It is currently not plugged in)

Could I maybe just wrap this thing up whit electrical tape?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Byron]

Yes, wrap it with electrical tape and you're OK...but provided the two distinct wires are not in contact with each other. Best way to ascertain this is to use a sharp knife to carefully separate the wire strands by cutting through the connecting plastic in between, but not exposing wire, if that makes sense. Then wrap the wire that has been exposed. This way you know there is no contact between the two wires which would sort circuit or worse, fire.

 

[Kritastrophe]

The wires look frayed. If they were still connected then I would just wrap with duct tape, but since it looks like some are not connected anymore total current is no longer being carried directly on the broken wires and I’m not sure how that would effect overall function of the motor. If it were me I’d invest in a new one only because trying to reconnect wires that are insulated can be a pain. Speaker wiring etc I’m comfortable doing because that’s a straight shot. If you are familiar with splicing you could go that route. Simply wrapping already frayed wires in duct tape could lead to motor burn out among other problems.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok, thank you both! So it should be fine (after doing what was told above) to run the filter?

 

[FishGuest5123]

I can’t tell if it’s fried or not. I would try the electrical tape and see how it goes. Whatever you do, make sure it’s unplugged first.

 

[Fishmanic]

That looks badly frayed. If it were my filter, I would properly cut all the way across both wires of the cord and cut out the damaged area. Then strip the 4 ends of wire (2 pair) then solder the ends of each pair of wires and then thoroughly tape each individual wire and then after doing that, add more tape around the whole mended area. That is the proper repair. You can follow others advice if you wish...that is your choice. I just wanted to state how I would do it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

If it were my filter, I would properly cut all the way across both wires of the cord and cut out the damaged area. Then strip the 4 ends of wire (2 pair) then solder the ends together of the two wires and then thoroughly tape each individual wire and then after doing that, add more tape around the whole mended area. That is the proper repair. You can follow others advice if you wish...that is your choice. I just wanted to state how I would do it.

Buy how would I be able to plug it in? There would be no plug.

I can’t tell if it’s fried or not. I would try the electrical tape and see how it goes. Whatever you do, make sure it’s unplugged first.

Ok, I’m pretty sure the mouse didn’t get to chewing through the second wire. I coulda tell it has been there for a while, because there is about 5 in. Of “ripped” space.

The area marked in red, is about 5in. Long. You can see the area where the copper wires are, but other than that, he didn’t get to the wires in the other parts.

 

[Back in the fold]

Yes, wrap it with electrical tape and you're OK...but provided the two distinct wires are not in contact with each other. Best way to ascertain this is to use a sharp knife to carefully separate the wire strands by cutting through the connecting plastic in between, but not exposing wire, if that makes sense. Then wrap the wire that has been exposed. This way you know there is no contact between the two wires which would sort circuit or worse, fire.

Yes, do this EXACTLY.

 

[Back in the fold]

I hate those meeces to pieces.

 

[Fishmanic]

You just cut out the damaged section and solder the resulting ends together. Or if the cord going to the filter is long enough you can buy the type of plug that can be easily attached to the remaining wire going to the pump.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Buy how would I be able to plug it in? There would be no plug.

Ok, I’m pretty sure the mouse didn’t get to chewing through the second wire. I coulda tell it has been there for a while, because there is about 5 in. Of “ripped” space.
View attachment 94283
The area marked in red, is about 5in. Long. You can see the area where the copper wires are, but other than that, he didn’t get to the wires in the other parts.

Oh, that looks worse than first pic. You can cut out the frayed part and then twist the wires back together again and then tape it with electrical tape. Unplug it while working on it.

 

[Essjay]

If this were my filter I'd err on the side of caution. Cut the wire to remove the chewed bit; fix a plug to the now much shorter cable; use an extension cable to reach the socket.
This is what we did when my son cut through the hedge trimmer cable. Twice. We now have a cordless hedge trimmer as that's easier to use without a cable.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok, thank you all. What I did was retwisted the frayed wires, and then electric taped them back to the original wire.

I will post a picture in a bit. I monitored the wire for about 20 min. And it showed no sign of a short.